Nic Shimonek Blames Himself for Texas Tech’s Loss to Oklahoma State [Video]

To say Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek was deflated after the Red Raiders' close loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys would be as much an understatement as saying only a couple tortillas were thrown out onto The Jones during the opening kickoff.

During a post-game Q&A following Texas Tech's 41-34 loss to Oklahoma State University, the quarterback was quick to admit he was at fault for a communication issue that hurt the team's momentum and scoring potential during a critical drive.

"They gave us the ball back, we had a chance to go score and close it out, and bad communication on my part with [wide receiver] TJ Vasher," he said. "I just gotta get better with those guys."

Asked to explain what he meant, Shimonek said he had flashed a different signal later, but Vasher didn't see the new sign.

"He did what he was told to do, what I originally told him to do," Shimonek explained. "I flashed the sign late, and he just didn't pick it up. Communication issues on my part."

Shimonek did say there was one positive from the loss.

"You could tell in the locker room after the game that it really hurt everybody," Shimonek said. "Last year, it was kind of, you know, 'we lost, we just lost the game.' You could tell everybody in that locker room expects to win, and obviously whenever we don't like tonight, you can just see the passion."

The final question of the Q&A asked how it felt to prove the people who said Texas Tech couldn't hang with Oklahoma State wrong. The quarterback balked at the notion.

"I mean, we lost. It doesn't feel good at all," he said. "Whether we lost by a point or 40, we lost the game. [We're] not here to compete with people, we're here to win football games."

You can see more video highlights from the Texas Tech-Oklahoma State game below.